[asia-apec 570] Announcement of 3rd Women's Conference Against Globalization

[appasec]

Initial Announcement and Invitation

3rd Women's Conference Against Globalization
November 8-9, 1998
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Workshop on Strategies, Gains  and Challenges 
in Women's Struggle Against Globalization
November 8 (2:30 - 10:00 p.m.)

Sponsored by 
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Society for Rural Education & Developement (SRED), Madras
Tamilnadu Women's Forum 
GABRIELA (National Alliance of Women's Organizations in the Phil)

Rationale

Women have been in the forefront of the struggle against globalization.
This comes as no surprise as women shoulder the heaviest burden of
denationalization, liberalization, deregulation and privatization, the main
components of the globalization scheme that throw women and men to the
sharkteeth of the so-called free market. 

Women workers suffer mass lay-offs, insecurity of tenure due to
casualization and contractualization, slave wages, debilitating working
conditions, sexual harassment and violations of their right to strike and
unionize. Rural and indigenous women continue to be deprived of their right
to own land  
due to monopoly land ownership by big landowners and agrocorporations,
land conversion to tourist resorts, residential subdivisions and so-called
industrial centers, crop conversion to export products, and maldevelopment
projects like logging and mining by multinational corporations and
construction of huge dams. The urban poor are driven away from their
communities as their houses are demolished to give way to commercial centers. 

Women have to work even longer hours to keep their families afloat with
additional income that can absorb currency devaluation and spiraling prices
of basic commodities and services. Small wonder that women from various
sectors are forced to go abroad to earn a living, despite the low wages,
terrible working conditions, violation of contracts, racial discrimination,
cultural trauma, the loneliness of being away from their loved ones and
even physical and sexual violence.  Some women are also forced into
prostitution in their own countries and abroad.

Globalization, instead of easing, only intensifies the global economic
and financial crisis. It benefits a few, not the majority of the peoples of
the world. It is the handiwork of the centers of global power - the US,
Japan and the European Union led by Germany - and the multi national and
transnational corporations (MNCs/TNCs), all of them expanding their wealth
and power to further exploit and dominate the poorer nations. They have
their client states of the Third World and the local ruling elite as their
partners.

"The current economic and political agenda in the Asia-Pacific region
disempowers women, feminizes poverty and disintegrates families and
communities. It has also given rise to dangerous anti-globalisation forces
based on narrow, chauvinistic nationalisms. In South Asia, fundamentalism
increases violence against women. In East Asia, 'nationalist' reactions to
the crisis amplify harsh treatment of migrant workers. In Australia, the
lobby against Asian immigration escalates. These emerging local and
national trends are especially worrying for women." (Rag, 1 Jul 1998).
 
It is therefore important to share and replicate pro-people and pro-women
strategies of resistance and alternatives to globalization as more and more
women and men among the workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, urban poor
communities, youth & students, professionals, church people, health sector,
teachers, government employees and local entrepreneurs have become aware of
the true nature and ill effects of globalization. More and more have taken
up the fight against globalization and found alternatives: the Assembly of
the Poor in Thailand, Wheat Revival Movement in South Korea, anti-dam
campaign in Malaysia and Cambodia, the Cordillera people's campaign against
open pit mining in the Philippines, campaigns against trafficking of women
and the International People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization
led by the Philippine people's movement.

APWLD, SRED, the Tamilnadu Women's Forum and GABRIELA are sponsoring the
workshop Strategies, Gains and Challenges in the Women's Struggle Against
Globalization to provide a venue through which women can share and learn
from each other and plan concerted actions.
  

Objectives

To learn from one another's strategies and gains in the women's struggle
against globalization.

To determine challenges for the next decade in the women's struggle
against globalization.

To determine burning issues that will be the basis for regional and/or
international women's action 
in the next  years.


End results
 
Statement of Unity
Resolutions that will guide national, regional and international 
women's action
Initial regional and/or international campaign plans

Tentative Programme 

02:30 Introduction by Elisa Tita Lubi of APWLD and GABRIELA

03:00 A Challenge to Women: Resist Globalization, Liberalization and
Privatization by Dr. Pao-Yu Ching, university professor and 
social activist, U.S. and Taiwan

03:30 Impact of Globalization and Challenges for South Asian Women
by Nimalka Fernando, President, IMADR

04:00 Tea Break

04:15 The Indonesian Situation
by women from Kalyanamitra Foundation, Aceh, West Papua and 
East Timor

05:15 Tamilnadu Rural Women's Caravan
by Fatima Burnad
Executive Director, SRED 

05:45 Organizing and Mobilizing Young Women
by a representative of Gabriela Youth

06:15 From the Point of View of Socialist Women
by Joan Hinton
a former nuclear physicist who has worked in agriculture in China 
in the past 50 years

06:45 Legal Strategies in the Hands of Women
Radhika Coomaraswamy
UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

07:15 Dinner

08:00 Open Forum:  Issues
              Resolutions
              Action plans for regional and international 
   women's campaigns

10:00 Adjourn

Please write to APWLD copy furnish the 3rd Women's Conference Secretariat
if you would like to attend:

APWLD
Tel (66-53) 404 613 to 614
Fax (66-53) 404 615
Email <apwld at loxinfo.co.th>

Sarojeni Rengam
Tel (60-4) 657 0271
Fax (60-4) 657 7445
Email <panap at panap.po.my>


Participants to the 3rd Women's Conference are enjoined to stay for the
Asia Pacific People's Assembly (APPA) which will be held on November 10-15.
The APPA schedule is indicated below:

 Nov 10 (whole day) Registration
               (evening) APPA Opening Ceremony
         11-12 Issue and Sector Forums/Workshops 
                 (We are holding the women's conference 
                 earlier than APPA so the women can join these
                 forums/workshops.)
         13-14 APPA Plenary
         15 People's Action 

For purposes of budgeting, food and accomodation in Malaysia will cost
approximately M$120-150 (~US$30-38) per person per day. There is also an
APPA registration fee of US$50 per person. The Malaysian government charges
US$11 for airport tax. Taxi from the international airport to Kuala Lumpur
is M$70.

See you in Kuala Lumpur!
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